The Guatemalan President, Jimmy Morales will attend a ceremony on May 16 to transfer his country’s embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Joviel said.

“The president is expected to attend the embassy transfer ceremony to Jerusalem,” the minister said after a cabinet meeting.

Guatemala was cooperating with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to complete arrangements for the relocation of the Embassy.

Morales announced on December 24 that his country would transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, becoming the first country in the world to follow the example of the United States in its decision to move its embassy to the occupied city.

On December 6, US President Donald Trump declared that the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and would move its embassy to it, a contraversial move that angered the Palestinian people, and was rejected the international community.

The new US Embassy in Israel is expected to open on May 14, on the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (exodus), which is the day of Israeli independence.

Trump’s decision led to the United Nations General Assembly adopting a resolution denouncing the US move.

In addition to the United States and Guatemala, six other countries have reportedly decided to relocate their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, including: Honduras, Togo, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of Nauru.

Israel occupied Jerusalem in 1967 and declared it its united capital in 1980, a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians demand that East Jerusalem be made the capital of the state of Palestine under international resolutions.